By the time I was a senior at Penn State, I felt I had learned so much about college life the hard way that I was eager to share my advice with others. I quickly found myself wondering what my college experience would’ve been like if I could’ve given some advice to my freshman, sophomore, or junior year self.
My living situation at the time wasn’t the most ideal. I was living with 11 roommates, and we paid $72,000 to live in a house on West College Avenue. We definitely had the time of our lives, but looking back, we probably (more like definitely) did not need to pay for 2 years worth of out-of-state tuition.
In May of 2017, I set out to create an apartment platform that would allow all Penn Staters to find their perfect homes away from home, whether they wanted to be closer to campus, have more personal space, or pay for rent without having to sell their plasma (I did for 4 years, it’s fine). I called this platform LionPads.
My idea to offer students support in their apartment searches led to a realization that finding apartments was just one of the many problems students face every year… problems in major need of a helping hand. So, in January of 2018, I left my 9–5 job to work full-time creating a one-stop-shop where students could find apartments, jobs and events around town. This combination of resources became the driving force behind FindItU.
Today, that force continues to grow, and we won’t stop working until all college students can afford to enjoy the best years of their lives… without breaking the bank.